Henryetta football snaps 6-year playoff drought in 2022

The Henryetta Golden Knight varsity football team had their most successful season in seven years in 2022.

The Knights finished with a 5-6 record last season and earned their first playoff appearance since 2016.

Henryetta’s first postseason contest in six years came to a close in the opening round, as the Knights dropped a 14-12 decision to the Eufaula Ironheads.

In 2016, Henryetta punched its ticket to the postseason despite finishing 3-7 in the regular season. The Knights earned a trip to the playoffs in 2016 due to winning three of their final five district contests.

Henryetta’s playoff appearance in 2022 came after the Knights combined for an 8-42 record since 2016.

In 2022, the Knights introduced new head coach Weston McGill and began the season with back-to-back losses to Victory Christian (42-6) and arch rival Morris (18-15).

The first win under Coach McGill came in Week 3 with a 46-28 victory over the Hartshorne Miners in Hartshorne.

Henryetta began district play in Week 4, traveling to Prague for a showdown with the Prague Red Devils. The Knights came up short in a 2-2 start, suffering a 56-12 decision to the host Red Devils.

The following week (Sept. 30) saw the Knights earn their first District 2A-5 win, outlasting the Tahlequah Sequoyah Indians 42-28 in front of their hometown fans.

Henryetta fell to 1-2 in district play following back-to-back losses to Warner (33-30) and Vian (45-16), respectively, and appeared on its way to a seventh-straight season without a playoff appearance.

A 59-14 home win over Okemah in Week 8 evened the Knights’ district record at 2-2, then the Henryetta squad earned its third district win of the season on October 28, defeating the Roland Rangers by a 52-20 margin.

In order to end their playoff drought, the Knights needed a win in their regular-season finale – a home game against the Keys Cougars.

The Knights entered their regular- season finale at home against Keys needing a win over the winless Cougars to guarantee a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Knights could also reach the postseason with an Okemah loss to Prague in Week 10. A loss to Keys and an Okemah win over Prague would have ended any playoff chances for the Henryetta squad in 2022.

In the regular-season finale, the Knights led by a commanding 40-7 margin at halftime and matched the Cougars 14-14 in the final two quarters to end their 6-year playoff drought with the 54-21 home victory.

During the second quarter of the regular-season finale, junior tailback Nick Hudson set the school rushing record with a 10-yard run with 6:51 left in the frame.

In the playoff opener against Eufaula, the Knights jumped out to 6-0 advantage on a 1-yard TD run by Hudson.

Eufaula went ahead 7-6 on the first play of the second quarter – a 41-yard TD run, then extended its lead to 14-6 at 10:51 of the fourth with a short TD run.

Late in the final frame, the Ironheads attempted to run out the final three minutes off the gameclock, but the Henryetta defense forced a turnover on downs at the Henryetta 40 with 2:43 remaining, giving the Knights one final opportunity to overcome the 8-point deficit.

The first play following the defensive stand resulted in an incomplete pass, then Brady Norman completed a short pass to Hudson, who raced down the field 55 yards to the Eufaula 5, giving the Knights a 1st and Goal situation with 2:27 left in regulation.

On the very next play, Hudson bulldozed his way across the goal line for the score to cut the deficit to two, 1412, with 2:23 remaining. The Knights were held out of the end zone on the conversion attempt to still trail by two.

The Knights were unable to recover the onside kick on the ensuing kickoff with Eufaula taking over at its own 46yard line. The Ironheads ran out the remaining time off the gameclock to secure the narrow opening-round win and end Henryetta’s 2022 campaign.

In 11 games in 2022, the Knights outscored their opponents 344-319 an average of 31.3-29.0 ppg – including outscored opponents 332-305 during the regular season – an average of 33.2-30.5 ppg.

During district play, the Henryetta gridiron squad outscored opponents 277-231 – an average of 39.6-33.0 ppg – with the biggest win margin being 45 points (Oct. 21 vs Okemah – 59-14).

In their four district wins, the Knights outscored their opponents 207-83 – an average of 51.75-20.75 ppg, including 90-point difference (165-55) in their final three district contests.

The Henryetta varsity football team are scheduled to begin Year 2 under Coach McGill on August 25 at home against Hartshorne and will be looking to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2015-16.

— Henryetta Golden Knights 2022 Record: 5-6 Game Results Regular Season

Sept. 2 – Victory Christian 42, Henryetta 6 Sept. 9 – Morris 18, Henryetta 15 Sept. 16 – Henryetta 46, Hartshorne 28 Sept. 23 – Prague 56, Henryetta 12 Sept. 30 – Henryetta 42, Tahlequah Sequoyah 28 Oct. 7 – Warner 33, Henryetta 30 Oct. 13 – Vian 45, Henryetta 16 Oct. 21 – Henryetta 59, Okemah 14 Oct. 28 – Henryetta 52, Roland 20 Nov. 3 – Henryetta 54, Keys 21 Playoffs

Nov. 11 – Eufaula 14, Henryetta 12